Escape and Evade
by Meka Casto
Summary: Disaster strikes when Zack and Max flee Seattle with Logan and Cindy in tow.
1. Default Chapter

Max sat on the roof of her apartment building and stared out over the city

Title: "Escape and Evade"

Author: Meka Casto

E-Mail: this_only_night@yahoo.com

Disclaimer: I have absolutely no rights at all concerning Dark Angel, its characters, or its plot lines. I'm just a lowly high school kid.

Distribution Notice: If you want it, feel free to archive it, as long I'm told about it and my original credits remain attached.

Author's Notes: This is the beginning of a series that I hope will last for at least ten chapters or more. As of this point, I have a general idea of what I'm going to do with the rest of story, so I'm going to go ahead and tack on an "R" rating, just to be safe.

Don't forget to review!!

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Evade and Escape (1/?)

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Max sat on the roof of her apartment building and stared out over the city. The sun was setting in the distance. Refracting light painted the sky a soft pink, a sharp contrast to the gray monoliths that made up downtown Seattle. Down below her, people were out and about, soaking up what was left of the rare sunshine. They looked so happy from ten stories up; no one would ever guess the problems they were faced with on a daily basis.

Max stood up and stretched lithely, breathing in the fresh air. There was almost something magical about the twilight, she thought to herself. Time seemed to come to a standstill as she turned her gaze to the west. Soft pink melted into deep scarlet as the sun dipped below the horizon and disappeared, leaving darkness to rule the city.

"Max." The soft whisper came from behind her. She whirled around, looking for its owner. Her body tensed up as she prepared for an attack, but none came. Instead, a figure cloaked in shadow emerged from the shadows. Stealthily, he moved forward and a ray of moonlight reflected in his pale blue eyes.

"Zack?" Max whispered in confusion. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"What…what are you doing here?" Max stood aloof, uncomfortable. The last time she had seen Zack, he'd been almost furious with her for not leaving Seattle to cross the Canadian border with him and Tinga. "How's Tinga?" she asked tentatively.

"She's fine. They're all fine." She could tell he was evading her question. Fine, she thought, if he doesn't want to talk, we won't talk.

Mentally shrugging her shoulders, Max moved back to the edge of the roof and looked off into the distance. She could feel Zack's cold gaze on her back as she stared at the Seattle skyline. It was a long time before he spoke again.

"You have to leave, Max." His voice was forceful, commanding, inviting no resistance.

Anger flared inside her as she whirled to face him. "Get it through your thick skull, soldier boy. We've been through this. I'm not leaving." 

He stepped forward and glared at her from under blonde lashes. "Do you even care what happens to you, Maxie? Do you? Or do you have some sort of death wish I don't know about?"

A moment passed, heavy with silence, as the siblings continued to stare each other down. Zack was the first to break and, with an exasperated growl, he dropped a folder unceremoniously at her feet. 

"Read it, Max. Then tell me you don't want to leave." He turned and moved away from her. Before he faded into the shadows, he swiveled around to face her again. "I'll be back, Max, but I'm not gonna wait forever for you to come to your senses." With that, Zack disappeared into the night and was gone.

Max stood in the darkness and seethed. How dare he just pop in and out of her life like some macabre genie from an Arabian fairy tale and lord over her like he was entitled to her obedience? He had no claim on her, none at all, and Max's independent side was rubbed the wrong way by his imperial attitude. Well, she thought with a huff, soldier boy was just going to have to get used to being disobeyed. Besides, his ego could use a little deflating.

Tossing her chocolate brown curls over her shoulder in silent defiance, Max returned to her concrete perch on the edge of the roof. She hugged her legs to her chest and rested her head on her knees as she let her gaze wander aimlessly across the city skyline. Nighttime really was the best part of the whole day.

She sat there for a few minutes more before standing and brushing the dirt from her jeans. As she was moving to cross the roof, the toe of her shoe brushed over something, and she leaned down to pick up the folder Zack had practically thrown at her. She would have like to have hurled the offending brown folder from the roof and watched the papers as they fluttered in the midnight breeze. However, her feline DNA must have been accompanied by feline curiosity because Max couldn't help opening the folder up and peering inside. 

Building diagrams. Medical records. Barcodes. Names. Max's supersensitive eyes skimmed them all in record time. As the meaning contained in the sinister papers became clear to her, a cold tendril of fear climbed an icy trail up her spine, sending shivers to each and every part of her body. 

As she closed the folder, she could feel her heart begin to beat wildly inside her chest, and for once, she wasn't sure what course of action she should take. She stared off into space for a long moment, searching for an answer. When a solution finally presented itself, she shook her head, wondering why it had taken her so long to think of him.

Logan.

Of course. Logan. He would know what to do about the records and diagrams she held in her hands. He would know how to keep her safe. How to keep himself safe.

Max took one last look at the bright yellow moon before bounding down the fire escape three steps at a time. 

As she revved up the Ninja and rode off into the night, Max concluded that, if the old adage was true and curiosity really did kill the cat, she was going to need a lot of help in the days and weeks to come.

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Okay, so, what did you think? Are you hooked? Annoyed? Any other sort of strong emotion? I'm going to work on posting the next chapter ASAP so you won't have to wait *too* long in suspense. lol.


	2. 2

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Escape and Evade (2/?)

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"Logan?" Max called out as she put away her pocketknife and stepped into the apartment. "Logan, you home?"

"Back here," came the muffled reply from back of the penthouse.

"Yeah, that helps," grumbled Max as she headed toward Logan's office. Once there, she propped her self against the doorjamb and observed.

The pale glow of the computer monitor was the only illumination in the room, and Logan sat directly in front of it, following the blinking cursor with his eyes as his fingers flew furiously across the keyboard. Max watched for a few moments before clearing her throat to announce her presence. 

"Hey there," Logan said, swiveling in the computer chair until he was facing her. He leaned back and crossed his arms as he grinned up at her.

"You're up late."

"So are you."

"Yeah, well, it's in the genes. Listen, you got a few minutes? There's something I want you to look at." Without waiting for his response, Max handed him the manila folder that Zack had passed to her just hours before.

Silence overtook the room as Logan buried himself in reading. Every few minutes he would raise an eyebrow or shake his head in response to the material in front of him, but otherwise he was still. Later, when he had finished with the last page, he closed the folder and let out a low whistle.

"Okay, let me make sure I have this right." He held up his hand and started ticking items off on his fingers. "The Red series has plans of your building. They have plans of my building. They have security codes for both buildings. They've been following you, and me, and Cindy for a few months now and in a few days they plan on capturing us all so they can get a hold of your DNA."

Max nodded.

"Okay, Max, I'll buy that this plan seems plausible. Hell, I'll even say that it seems probable. But are you sure about its accuracy?"

Max nodded again.

Logan looked at her strangely, like he was noticing her bad mood for the first time since she'd walked into the apartment. "Who gave you the folder, Max?"

"Zack." Her voice was quiet, laced with steel. Logan heard the sharp edge to her tone and decided he didn't want to pursue that line of questioning. He switched gears instead.

"Next question: what are you going to do about all this?"

Max shrugged half-heartedly and didn't answer. She was still trying to grapple with the fact that the Red Series had a price on her head. In all her nineteen years, she had never met such a terrifying enemy as the Reds, and the prospect of going up against them once more chilled her insides to ice. Instinctively, her fingers went to the back of her neck, to the raised scar just below the barcode. She could still remember the strength and power that had coursed through her when she'd let the implant drive itself under her skin. It was a power that had made her feel invincible, and she had no doubt that the Reds shared the same drunken addiction she had felt. She'd almost been sorry when she found out that Logan had had to kill the damn thing to save her life. Almost.

"Zack says I should leave." Her voice broke the silence abruptly. 

Logan was silent for a while. Finally, he spoke up, speaking softly. "Maybe you should."

Max's only response was a barely perceptible nod. Her mood had quickly turned sour and she honestly didn't want to think about the possibility of leaving Seattle.

By mutual silent agreement, Logan and Max retreated to their respective corners, each instinctively knowing that the other needed time to think, to mentally prepare for the separation that seemed so inevitable. Before long, the only sound in the apartment was the clickety-clack of Logan's fingers traversing the keyboard. 

Max stood at the window for what seemed like hours, barely taking notice when Logan went to the kitchen to fix a sandwich. It seemed her bad mood was contagious, because she had felt Logan's disposition slowly slipping into the black all night. His bouts of gloominess had become more and more frequent since the day she had almost caught him with the gun in his hand. Often, she had walked into the apartment to find him staring off into space like a doped-up mental patient. It was those days that scared Max the most. On those days, the charming, confident Logan Cale she knew was replaced by a sullen, despondent facsimile of his former self.

A knot of fear lodged itself in her throat and she coughed slightly to work it loose. Would Logan do something drastic if she were to leave Seattle? She had sensed his growing attachment to her, and was strangely comforted by it, but would that attachment cause him to do the unthinkable once Max had returned to a life of looking over her shoulder? The thought was just too much to bear. Logan returned to the room just then, interrupting her thoughts. He said nothing, but she could feel his gaze burning on her back. She didn't move.

It was a long while before Max noticed that silence had filled the room. Listening carefully, she discerned the soft, even sound of Logan's breathing. He had fallen asleep in the chair.

Just then, Max heard footsteps ascending the stairwell that opened up to Logan's floor. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and she practically growled to herself. Whipping around, she stalked out of the room and to the door, throwing off tangible sparks of negative energy. She grasped the doorknob with one hand and yanked it open, glaring at the tall, blonde man who stood on the other side.

"What do you want?" Her voice barely contained her malice as she cocked an angry eyebrow and stared Zack down.

His eyes were filled with an animosity that matched her own as he gracefully elbowed his way into Logan's apartment. 

"I told you I was coming back. Or did you forget already?"

He spoke in a normal voice, but Max glared at him and said forcefully, "Keep your voice down. You'll wake Logan."

"Oh, really?" he leered at her. Max fought every impulse inside of her that said to hell with family loyalty, go ahead and drop kick him out the window. 

"Yes, really. Let me repeat myself: what do you want?"

Neither Max nor Zack had noticed Logan silently advance from the living room, wearing a black expression as he watched them argue. He knew what Zack wanted.

"Just an answer, Maxie. Are you coming or not?"

"Yes, I'm coming…" Logan's heart fell to the pit of his stomach. He couldn't handle this, he just couldn't. Noiselessly, he turned around and started for the bedroom, needing to be alone. He stopped just as he heard Max start to speak again.

"…but only on one condition. Logan and Cindy are coming, too."


	3. 3

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Escape and Evade (3/?)

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"Huh uh, Max. No way." Zack shook his head emphatically. "They're not going."

"Then I'm not going." Max stood her ground defiantly. "They go, or I don't. Take your pick."

"My job is to get you out of Seattle. Nothing more, nothing less. Those two aren't my problem."

"Does it ever get dark in that tunnel you live in? Zack, these are innocent people we're talking about. You might be able to stand on the sidelines and watch them be murdered in cold blood, but I can't. It's my fault that the Reds are after Logan and Cindy and I'm not about to leave them hanging high and dry. If you can't comprehend that, then get the hell out of here. I'm tired of arguing with you."

Tense silence filled the room as Zack contemplated the ultimatum.

"Fine," was the clipped reply. "They can come, but if they slow us down, they're gone."

Logan chose that moment to step into the kitchen and make his presence known. "Don't we unwitting cargo get a say in this master plan?"

He spoke jokingly, pretending to make light of the situation, but Max knew better. She could see the worry and concern in his eyes when he looked at her, and she looked back at him and smiled the smallest of smiles, needing to let him know she understood. Then his gaze flickered to Zack and anxiety was replaced by fierce possessiveness. Zack was on Logan's turf, invading his territory, and Logan didn't like it one bit.

Max was about to speak when Zack cut her off at the pass. 

"I'll be back tomorrow night," he said, glaring daggers at Logan. "Be ready to go, or I'm going without you." Then he turned from the room and was gone.

Max breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't been totally sure Zack would relent to her demands, but now that he had, and she was able to get Logan and Cindy to safety, a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. 

"Max, I can't go." Logan's soft declaration cut through the stillness of the apartment, slicing through Max like a knife. She could feel a sarcastic retort tickling the back of her throat, but she kept it in for once, opting for a more straightforward approach.

"Why the hell not?"

"You know why. I have obligations. I can't just jet off to Canada or Mexico whenever I feel like it. Eyes Only, the Informant Net..."

Max interjected, "Yeah, yeah, I know. 'Fight the power, protect the downtrodden, blah blah, woof woof.' Well, you know what? Forget the damn downtrodden. If I don't get your ass out of this city, the Reds are going to kill you, and I'm not going to have your death on my conscience because you wanted to stay behind and play snitch."

"Are you finished?"

Max shrugged indifferently. She expected Logan to launch into a tirade, but he only averted his eyes and walked out of the kitchen. A few minutes later, she heard his hands resume their typing and she knew that, for the moment, he had won. Deciding to try again in the morning, Max walked out of the apartment, hoping the Reds would leave them alone for just one more night.

It was nearly three o'clock when Max finally made it home. Even before she opened the front door, she could smell the worry emanating from inside. Cindy was waiting up for her, and she pounced the second Max stepped across the threshold. 

"Where the hell have you been, boo? You'd better be tellin' Original Cindy right here and now, cuz you ain't gettin' no sleep 'till the story's out and the crowd is satisfied."

Max sighed and collapsed on the worn couch. "You sure you want to hear this?" At her friend's affirmative and emphatic nod, Max launched into the story.

"Damn," was Cindy's only response to the situation. 

Max, feeling as though the weight of the world rested on her slim shoulders, moved to the window to gaze outside. The residents of the city were asleep, leaving the dirty streets abandoned, lonely. 

"So where we s'posed to go once we jet outta here?" Cindy's voice was soft, a contrast to her normally boisterous tone. Max could sense that her friend was frightened.

"I don't know. Zack didn't say," she said as Cindy came up beside her. With a sigh, Max wrapped a loving arm around her friend's shoulders, trying to comfort her. "I really am sorry Cindy."

"It's aiight, boo. Not like there be much here to make a girl stay. Besides, it ain't gonna be forever." Cindy smiled with the resilience that lived deep inside of her.

Max's eyes flickered over the broken landscape once again, and she exhaled softly. Guilt and worry weighed her down, sapping her strength. Would Logan relent? Or would she be forced to leave him behind, knowing that his death was inevitable? The stars in the heavens offered her no answers as she gazed up at them with mixed feelings of wonder and fear. And even though Max had never been a religious person, she closed her eyes and offered up a small prayer to whoever would listen, fervently pleading for assurance that everything was going to turn out okay.

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For some reason, my chapters just keep on shrinking! Grr....I promise a longer one next time (and more action too!).


	4. 4

AN: You know, when I started this story, I had absolutely no intention of turning it into a romance

AN: I know this update has been long due, and I apologize for the wait. A combination of computer troubles and a house move just kinda pushed everything else to the back burner for awhile. Along that line, I will no longer have the time I need to complete this story, so if any of you who are reading this are interested in taking over, e-mail me and we'll talk.

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Escape and Evade (4/?)

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Logan groaned and slung his arm over his face to protect his eyes as the bedroom light suddenly came on, yanking him out of a restless sleep.

"Damn it, Bling!" he yell, cranky from stress and too little sleep. "It's not even six o'clock!" He removed his arm from his face and sat up, expecting to see his trainer's bulky form hovering around the doorway. Instead, he saw a smaller frame standing near the door, one he recognized even without his glasses. His heart began to beat a little faster, even as he was telling himself that it wasn't possible, that it couldn't be her. He reached for his glasses and slid them on, expecting to turn back to the door and find her gone, a figment of his imagination. But when his vision cleared, she was still there, so lifelike that he had to hold back the tears.

"Mom," he whispered, afraid to speak any louder for fear that she would disappear.

The lady in the door smiled. She was tall, only a few inches shorter than her son, and she carried herself with the grace that came naturally only to those gifted with a wise mind and a kind, loving heart. She met Logan's disbelieving gaze with crystal blue eyes identical to his own.

"It's okay, Logan. I'm not going to bite you," she said, in the laughing, warm voice he thought he would never hear again.

"But what...how...?" His questions trailing off into nothingness and he just sat there, staring.

"I know, I know, it seems impossible and you're convinced that you're going insane." Leigh Cale laughed at the expression on her son's face. "You needn't look so terrified, Logan. You see, in actual fact, I'm not really here at all. You're dreaming."

Logan's face fell immediately and his mother chuckled.

"It's nice to know I've been missed, though."

Logan stood, crossed the room, and wrapped his arms around the dream version of his mother. "You have no idea how much I've missed you. How much I miss you."

"Oh, Logan," his mother sighed. "You've had to endure so much pain in your life, so much unhappiness." She stepped out of his embrace and cupped a perfectly manicured hand against his face. "But in spite of all that, you've grown to be exactly the kind of man I always knew you would be: kind, loving, passionate."

Logan smiled, and this time he couldn't stop the tears from building up and spilling over. 

"As much as I would love to stay here with you, I don't have much time, and there's something important I must tell you." She perched on the edge of the bed and he followed suit. "I was sent to you for a reason, Logan, to warn you."

"To warn me?" His eyes widened in surprise.

"Yes, of what happen if you make the wrong choice today. A choice concerning your lady friend, this Max."

"You know about her?" Logan was incredulous. He was still trying to come to grips with the fact that it was his mother, really her, seated on the bed not two feet from him. Some part of him recognized he was dreaming, but all of him wished it was truly her, that she had come back.

"Yes. She's quite a girl, that Max. I've had my eye on her for some time. She wants you to leave, to go with her and this brother of hers. Logan, you must go with them." She held up a hand to silence him when he tried to protest. "No, just listen for a moment. I know you feel you have a duty to protect the people of this city, but at what cost to yourself? Surely you must see that these men mean to kill you, and they will. That's not the only reason you should flee, but Heaven knows it's reason enough."

"Why else then? Why should I leave my home, my life's work, the people who are counting on me?" He was angry now, not wanting to accept what she was saying.

"Don't you see? Look around you, Logan. Even if you were to survive and encounter with these men, these things will be all you'll have left. Your computers, your art, even your memories will not be able to provide you with a fraction of the happiness she will show you. Follow Max, Logan. She'll lead you to where you belong."

She was silent a moment as Logan absorbed her words. The she rose and embraced him. The smell of her, lilacs and jasmine, wafted around him and he breathed it in, memorizing everything about her all over again.

"Follow your heart, Logan. It will never steer you wrong."

There was a loud bang from the front of the apartment and suddenly she was gone and Logan was in bed again, fumbling on the nightstand for his glasses.

"Hey, man, you awake?" Bling asked, poking his head inside the door.

"I am now. What'd you do, bring a whole herd of jungle elephants over for breakfast?" 

"Nah, I just knocked a weight off the rack. Sorry I woke you." He turned to leave, then turned back. "Do you have flowers sitting around here somewhere?"

"No, why?" Logan asked, even though he knew what the answer would be.

"I've been smelling lilacs since I walked in the door this morning. It's stronger back here." Bling shook his head and ducked back out of the door.

"Lilacs and jasmine," Logan whispered as he smiled to himself. Then he remembered the purpose of his mother's "visit" and jumped out of bed. He pulled on the first clothes he found in the closet, grabbed his coat, and yelled out to Bling that he was going for a walk. He had some thinking to do.

He didn't pay much attention to the route he took and surprised himself by ending up at the waterfront where Max had found him dragging his feet in the surf just a few short months ago. The place hadn't changed at all; it was still a haven for refuse and pollution, but to Logan it was familiar and that was something he needed.

He stood at the water's edge and watched the seagulls as they dove under the waves in search of breakfast. Bending over, Logan combed his fingers through the sand until he found a small, flat stone. He stood again, curved his fingers around the worn rock and let it fly. It skipped once, twice, three times before succumbing to gravity and disappearing beneath the surf. Logan smiled. It had been an eternity since something so simple and uncomplicated had had the power to make him smile.

He turned and began searching for more stones but halted when an unusual splash of color caught his eye. He pocketed the stone in his hand and made his way over to the small blue patch that lay nestled between a broken beer bottle and an empty cardboard carton. When he finally got close enough to identify the spot of color, he was stunned.

Little blue flowers, small and delicate, reached up amid the trash to find a stray patch of sunlight. Logan was amazed that anything so fragile, so beautiful, dared to open its leaves in the midst of such filth, and yet there they were, standing strong and proud.

Logan leaned over and plucked one of the tiny flowers from the ground. As he stood there looking at the blue bud, he saw Max removing her shoes and coming to meet him on that very beach. He saw her face, strong and determines as she places her head on the table opposite him, with the plastic transfusion tube stretched between them.

He realized with a flash of sudden recognition that the blue flower reminded him of Max. On the outside it was beautiful and delicate, but on the inside it was strong, strong enough to survive whatever the weather and the environment put in its path. Max was the same - strong, resilient, and yet strangely fragile at the same time. Logan smiled as he tucked the small flower safely in his pocket and started for home. He had made his decision.

"Hey, Bling!" he called as he entered the apartment.

"Yeah, man, what's up?" Bling came out the kitchen with a half-eaten apple in his hand.

"There's something I need you to do for me, and I need you to do it quick." Logan gave his instructions to Bling, who went to work immediately.

Two hours later, Logan stood in the middle of his office, which was now empty save for the bare computer desk. Everything - the computers, the files, the video cameras - had been carefully dismantled and removed from the apartment by Bling, who had taken the equipment to his own place for safe keeping.

"That's the last of it," Bling said as he tossed the keys to the Aztec in Logan's direction. "I'm headin' out now." He paused, then offered his hand to Logan. "It's been a pleasure workin' with you. Make sure you let me know if you ever get back to town." The two friends shook hands.

"Thanks, Bling. Thanks a lot."

"No problem. You take care of yourself out there."

"You, too."

Bling nodded solemnly, then turned and walked out of the apartment without looking back. 

Logan stood in the empty office for a few minutes more, reflecting on how much his life had changed in the past twelve hours. In effect, Logan Cale was taking on a new reality. He was embarking on an adventure of sorts that even he couldn't predict, and the strange part was, he couldn't have been happier about it. The dream had changed everything for him.

As he stood there, he felt a restless energy building up inside him. He figured dusk would arrive before Max and Cindy so that meant half the day with nothing to do now that his computers were gone.. 

Frustrated, bored, and anxious, Logan paced the apartment several times. He traced a path from the bedroom to the refrigerator to the windows and back around again. On his fourth trip through, his hand slipped into his coat pocket and found the small blue flower. He fingered it, feeling the soft, silky petals and the waxy leaves. That little plant still amazed him. 

Struck by sudden inspiration, Logan trekked through the house until he found the small journal he wrote poetry in. Grabbing a pen off of the nightstand, he stretched out on the couch and began scribbling aimlessly. He wasn't trying to write anything magnificent, but it was still a way to pass the time. He zoned out and let his fingers take over, not even paying attention to the words they were putting to paper. However, it wasn't long before his fingers began to slow down and his eyes began to droop. Minutes later, he fell asleep with one hand still curled around the tiny blue flower in his pocket.


End file.
